The Library
by Nightshade'sMusings
Summary: The Doctor lands his TARDIS in a vast library and chooses to go on a short stroll.


**A/N- A short little piece that I thought would work well with the 1st Doctor. As always any feedback would be most appreciated, every little helps. :)**

The room is vast and dimly lit, the lights turned down low. Everywhere there are bookcases full of books, filling the centre of the room and lining the wall. At one end is lit fireplace and a comfy looking chair. Next to the chair are a small wooden table and a half filled glass of something amber coloured. Suddenly a deep, groaning sound fills the air as a large shape begins to materialise. After a moment the sound stops and the shape has become solid, a large blue box now dominates the room; the TARDIS. The door opens and a frail looking man with white hair and a cane steps out of it; the Doctor, he looks over his shoulder into the depths of his ship. "Now you just stay there, especially you Chatterton. I shan't be long. I just want to have a look round."

The Doctor looks round the room and chuckles to himself, shaking his head, before heading off towards one of the bookshelves.

"Well now, let's see what we have here hmmm?"

He reaches one of the bookcases and runs a finger along the spines of some of the books, stopping at one and taking it off the shelf. "Romeo and Juliet? Well well, not a good start. A load of old nonsense if ever I did read. Family feuds and suicide, what was William thinking."

Shaking his head he puts the book back and continues to walk along the bookcase. "Oh course, even the worst of books should still be appreciated. We start losing our appreciation of the written word and books and the next thing we know we're throwing them away, or worse yet throwing them onto fires. Like those barbarians the Nazis." He looks angry and starts walking faster, up and down the aisles of the bookcases, his cane swinging about. After a moment he seems to calm himself down and shakes his head slightly. "I have always enjoyed a good book, the smell of the dust jacket, the thrill of discovering a new place, new people, and new adventures. I suppose that is why I travel; I'm that sort of reader. Unlike the Time Lords of course, they're just content to read about things, never experience them as well."

He chooses another book and flips it open, smiling a little. "Ah yes, much better. The Lord of the Rings, now that is a story hmmmm?" He shuts the book and returns it before continuing to walk, his cane making a clacking sound against the wooden floor. "One day I must make sure I visit the author, find out where he got his inspiration from."

The Doctor stops in the middle of the room, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of books and inhales deeply, as if breathing in the presence of the written word. "You know books are powerful objects, almost as powerful as the TARDIS in some ways. Oh yes Susan my dear child they are. Books can take you to far off places, can transport you to different times, different worlds. They can show you the wonders of the world and the universe. They can introduce you to all sorts of things and people."

The Doctor clears his throat and clutches one of his jacket lapels with his free hand, rubbing it absent-mindedly.

"I opened a book and in I strode. Now nobody can find me. I've left my chair, my house, my road, my town and my world behind me.  
I'm wearing the cloak, I've slipped on the ring, I've swallowed the magic potion. I've fought with a dragon, dined with a king and dived in a bottomless ocean.  
I opened a book and made some friends. I shared their tears and laughter and followed their road with it's bumps and bends to the happily ever after.  
I finished my book and out I came. The cloak can no longer hide me. My chair and my house are just the same. But I have a book inside me."

The Doctor is silent for a moment, seemingly lost in memories before shaking his head again. "Well enough of all this, time for us to be going back to Chesterfield and Ms Wright eh Susan...Susan?" He looks round the room, a look of dismay on his face.

"Oh...Oh yes, she's with David now, of course. How silly of me." All the energy seems to have drained from him as he shuffles back towards the TARDIS. He reaches it and leans against the door, as if drawing strength from it, before straightening his back and opening the door.

"Step away from those controls Charlton, what have I told you!"

He steps into the TARDIS and the door closes, there is a moment of silence before the wheezing, groaning sound starts again and the TARDIS fades from existence, leaving the library.


End file.
